Survey Suggests a Tight Holiday Job Market

September 30, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Americans
hoping to make extra money to pay bills or buy holiday
presents this year could face a tight holiday job market,
according to a new SnagAJob.com survey conducted by Ipsos
Public Affairs.

The number of holiday season jobs available will be
less than last year, and more people are expected to be
vying for them, SnagAJob.com said in a press release.
Managers who plan to hire at least one hourly holiday
worker say they are looking to bring on nine seasonal
workers on average, down 20% from the 11.2 employees they
report having hired last year.

In addition, four in 10 hiring managers (39%)
expect the number of applicants to rise this year over
last, with about one half (52%) expecting the number to
stay the same. Only nine percent expect fewer applicants,
according to the press release.

The survey of 1,000 American managers who have
responsibility for hiring hourly workers finds that each
manager, on average, plans on hiring 3.7 seasonal
employees, roughly 33% less than the 5.6 seasonal workers
they each hired during last year’s holiday period.
Fifty-seven percent of managers say they do not plan on
making any hires this year – up 8% from 2007.

Of those who do not plan on hiring this year, the
reasons for that decision include an expectation that
current staff will take on the additional hours or
workload (50%), that they have no money to hire
additional seasonal workers (29%), and that they expect a
slower holiday season this year compared to last
(21%).

With the tight holiday job market, those wanting a
position may want to start looking early. The
SnagAJob.com survey indicates that October is the month
that most employers who are hiring this year will start
the hiring process (36%). A combined 39% said they
started hiring in August or September.

Most managers said they expect to wrap up their
hiring duties in November (35%), with some finishing in
October (20%) and others hiring as late as December
(28%).

Whenever hires will be made, job seekers who
previously have worked for a company have a definite
advantage in getting hired again, the press release said.
Over one half of the employees that hiring managers
expect to hire this year are seasonal workers who worked
for them last year.

For those who are interested in turning a seasonal
job into something more permanent, employers said they
expect that almost one half (46%) of the employees they
hire over the holidays will continue to work for them
into 2009.

The survey also found that 43% of seasonal workers
will work full-time hours, with the rest working an
average of 20 hours a week.